Marine craft



E. BOYCE MARINE CRAFT June 10, 1930.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 9, 1930 (June/whoa Edw LnBoyce June 10,1930. 1E, BOY-CE 1,763,415

' MARINE CRAFT Filed Jan. 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 um/whoa Edna/L72 ,Bqyce a Patented June 10, 1930 UNIT STATES EDWIN BOYCE, OF FINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS MARINE CRAFT Application filed January 9, 1930; Serial No. 419,609.

The invention aims to provide a new and improved type of marine craft which will attain high speed with the expenditure of very little power and will more efliciently apply #3 such power to the water than the conventional types of screw propellers. While it is my primary intent to provide a speedboat, it is to be understood that the craft may be made also in larger sizes and of more durable con- 1c struction for commercial purposes.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view on line 4.--4 of Fig. 3.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 5 denotes a front, forwardly tapered float secured to the front end of a central shaft 6, and 5 designates a rear, rearwardly tapered float secured to the rear end of said shaft. Both floats 5 and 5 are provided with helical propelling webs 7 extending from end to end thereof.

Disposed betweenthe floats 5 and 5 is a passenger car 8 having bearings 9 through which the shaft 6 passes. Under this shaft in front of the car 8, a motor 10 is mounted in the car 8, and driving connections 11 are provided between said motor and the shaft, said connections embodying a clutch and a reverse gear which may be considered as within the housing 12. Mounted in the upper rear portion of the car 8, is a pilots seat 13, in front of which are a steering wheel 14', an opening to receive the pilots body and a windshield 15, said steering wheel being operatively connected by any desired means with a rudder 16 under the rear portion of the body 8.

A substantially cylindrical form is pre ferred for the body 8 and the latter is of substantially the same diameter as the inner ends of the floats 5 and 5, providing a stream-line design for the craft, which offers little reu sistance. In front of the rudder 16, I prefer to provide this body 8 with a skeg or station ary rudder 17, and I also provide said body with a plurality of heels 18 extending from end to end thereof. 7

Under normal circumstances, substantially half of the floats 5 and 5 and half of the body 8 are submerged, and when said floats are driven by the motor 10, they screw through the water and produce an effective driving force. The water acted upon by the helical webs 7 of'the front float 5 is of course more or less agitated and whirled thereby, but the heels 18 quiet this water before it is acted upon by the webs 7 of the rear float 5, allowing the latter to also efliciently act upon the water. The weight of the motor 10, 5 below the shaft 6, overcomes any liability of the car 8 capsizing. Furthermore, the heels 18 in traveling through the water, prevent the motor 10 and the driving connections 11 from having any noticeable tendency to rotate the car 8 instead of driving the shaft 6 and the floats 5-5.

By providing the construction shown and described, or a substantial equivalent there of, a boat is provided which will be efl icient 7-5 and rapid with the expenditure of little power, and may be driven either forwardly or rearwardly with equal advantage. By placing the motor 10 under the shaft 6, it overcomes any tendency on the part of the car 8 to tilt about said shaft, and by positioning this motor in the front of the car, it substantially counteracts the depressing force exerted by the pilots weight, so that the boat has no tendency to travel nose-high.

While the details disclosed may be followed if desired, attention is again invited to the fact that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous variations may be made.

I claim A motor boat comprising a longitudinal shaft, a front helically-webbed float and a rear helically-webbed float secured to the front and rear ends of said shaft respectively, a cylindrical pilots car between said floats and having central bearings at its ends through which said shaft passes, a pilots seat in the rear portion of said car directly over and close to said shaft, the upper side 199 of said car having an opening over said seat to receive the pilots body, a windshield rising from said car in front of said opening, a motor mounted in said car and'operatively connected with said shaft, said motor being below the shaft to prevent tilting of the car about said shaft and being atthe front of] said car to counteract depression of therear part of the car under the influenceof the pilots weight, keels on said car extending from end to end thereof and serving to quiet the water acted upon-by the webs of the front float, one of said keels being centrally disposed, a rudder at the vrear end "ofvsaid'icem tral keel, a steering wheel in front of and above" the pilots seat, and operating connectionsbe'tween saidsteering wheel and said rudder.

In testimony whereof I ha've hereunto aflixedmy signature. I

' EDWIN BOYCE. 

